Academic, Phase I/Ii Trial On T Cells Expressing A Second Generation, Cd19-Specific Chimeric Antigen Receptor (Car) And Inducible Caspase 9 Safety Switch For The Treatment Of B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Bcp-All) And B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (B-Nhl) In Children

Survival rates of children with relapsed/refractory (r/r) BCP-ALL remain unsatisfactory and little progress has been made in the past 2 decades. Similarly, relapse of childhood B-NHL is usually associated with an aggressive disease and poor outcomes. Targeted immunotherapy with T-cells genetically modified to express a CD19-directed CAR showed an unprecedented antitumor efficacy, leading to the recent FDA and EMA approval of two CD19-CAR products for treatment of BCP-ALL and B-NHL. Relevant toxicities have, however, been reported, mainly related to the development of severe Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) and/or of neurotoxicity.